


Shelter

by wand3rlust



Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-16
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2018-02-04 20:59:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1793044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wand3rlust/pseuds/wand3rlust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The summer Sam turns 15 he starts volunteering at a men’s homeless shelter on Saturday mornings. There he meets a curious, quiet man who always wears a glove on his left hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shelter

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by The Winter Soldier comics where Bucky escapes his handlers and flees to a homeless shelter in New York. In this case, the event has moved up about 20 years or so from when it occured in the comic, but I liked the idea that Sam might have met Bucky before.

The summer Sam turns 15 he starts volunteering at a men’s homeless shelter on Saturday mornings. His father’s church holds fundraisers and donation drives a few times a year to collect blankets, gently used clothes and other non-perishable items, but Sam is determined to do as much as he can.

One morning he’s refilling the coffee percolator when he hears feet shuffle up behind him. “We’ll be good to go in just a sec,” Sam says glancing back over his shoulder.

The man nods at him, the corner of his mouth twitching in what might have been a smile. Sam replaces the percolator lid, adds another stack of insulated cups, wipes the granules of sugar off the table then takes the top cup off the stack holding it out to the man who has been waiting patiently. “Fresh coffee ready to go,” he smiles.

The man reaches out and takes it with another silent nod. His brown hair is just past his ears, a little unkempt and he could use a good a good shave, but Sam’s seen many men like him before and is more distracted by the leather glove on his left hand. He knows it’s rude to stare so he looks away quickly ashamed of himself. “We got some scrambled eggs, rice, beans and some mixed fruit just over there if you’re hungry. My name’s Sam by the way,” he offers pointing to his name tag, “if you need anything.”

Suddenly the man’s face shifts into a confused frown and his eyebrows knit together as he stares at Sam’s shirt. “Who’s that?” The man’s rough voice asks quietly.

Sam glances down, he’s wearing his faded Captain America t-shirt where a cartoon figure man is running forward with his giant shield out in front of him. Suddenly, he’s a little embarrassed thinking maybe he’s too old to be wearing cartoon figures on his shirt now. “Oh,” he laughs nervously. “It’s Captain America,” he explains tugging at the hem of the shirt to flatten out the figure. Didn’t everyone know who Captain America and the Howling Commandos were? There was even a cartoon series about them on Saturday mornings now.

The man just shakes his head and rubs at his left temple like he’s got a headache, he turns and walks away quickly leaving his cup of coffee steaming on the table.

Sam stops wearing action figure t-shirts out in public after that. The quiet man comes in a few more times that summer. He never says much, but he always nods and smiles politely to Sam when he comes in. Then at the end of August, one Sunday night a police raid takes place on the shelter. Sam wasn’t around at the time to know what happened and no one will tell him, but he never sees the quiet man again after that, and from that day on, Sam crosses the street any time a police officer walks towards him on the sidewalk.


End file.
